“St.Paul at the Rijksmuseum”

Rembrandt’s masterful self-portrait “Self-portrait as the Apostle Paul” which hangs in the Honor gallery in the Rijksmuseum, became the focus of this shot, which I took during the Pritzker Architecture Prize Dinner over the summer … an event where I was the official photographer.
I was inspired by the shot of President Obama looking at the painting earlier this year. Rembrandt’s gaze can easily be interpreted as pitiless. What did he make of Obama? What, indeed, would he make of this elite dining in fine style in this place?
The picture has one important lesson in it for any aspiring photographer; it is crucial to be aware of your surroundings as you look for an original image. What can you use to construct your shot that other people might not think of? This might look obvious but it only looks that way in retrospect.
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